Truth and Miracles
Lloyd Gardner
It is my firm belief that God is presently changing the structure of His church to allow for the fulfillment of much of His will. The people of God have many questions about how God desires to work in His church but they are confused because most of the answers are given in the context of a church structure that is not biblical and cannot properly contain all that God wishes to pour out.
One example of this confusion is the debate over the place of miracles and supernatural expressions in the church. Some church leaders are teaching that the supernatural spiritual gifts have ceased—that they were merely God’s way of bearing witness to the apostolic period in which the church was founded. After the apostolic age the miraculous gifts such as miracles, healing and tongues ceased. Some even go so far as to say that any claimed expression of these gifts today is a demonic counterfeit.
Others, have readily accepted the spiritual gifts as available today but have tried to apply them in a church structure that was never intended by God. The result is a convoluted expression of the gifts rather then a genuine, normal expression among Christians.
Some movements have even opened up to the enemy by allowing a mixture of demonic activity with what they deem as genuine spiritual gifts. Recent movements such as the unusual experiences in Toronto, Lakeland and Brownsville, Florida attest to this tendency. It was common to hear leaders of these movements admit that there were many counterfeit manifestations in these meetings that may even have had a demonic origin. There was little testing of the experiences being received by the people.
God wants to clean up this mess but it will take a wholesale renovation of what we call “church.” Paul called the church “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). The church is a context in which truth is supported and built up like a spiritual house. Without a true expression of the church as God designed it, truth becomes elusive and unstable in our lives.
Let me explain. Local church expressions were never meant to be large gatherings where one person expounds doctrine on a continuing basis. The church was designed by God to be expressed in small gatherings where the believers participated together in their pursuit of truth. In such informal gatherings, Christ was to be the spiritual Guest of honor and His word was to be respected and followed.
In such small, informal gatherings it was easy to put things that were shared to the test of God’s word and the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit were not strange, mystical activities but normal functions of Christians ministering to one another. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything carefully. Embrace what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). In a small gathering in someone’s home it was easy to make sure that the things shared in the gathering matched up with the word of God. There were no spiritually elite preachers whose word was accepted without question. Notice also that prophecies were considered a normal part of the meeting and were not to be “despised.” In this way the early church gathering was the “pillar and foundation of truth,” a context where truth was received and embraced after objective testing.
In 1 Corinthians 14:29 Paul wrote something similar: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.” Notice that prophets were allowed to share in small numbers but that everyone else in the meeting would judge or weigh what was spoken. In this way truth was discerned and maintained. Prophets were not considered above the word but were to always line up with scripture. In today’s institutional church setting we would not call the “pastor” a prophet but seldom is his message tested or judged by the Christians assembled. He is given the status of “prophet” even though not called one and yet his words are not judged.
John warns against this notion of elite teachers being allowed to dominate the gatherings. He said, “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him”
(1 John 2:27, ESV). The apostle is not saying that teachers are not important but is encouraging the believers to realize that they don’t have to be spoon fed by the teachers because they too have the anointing of God.
This anointing is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus when He said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26, ESV). Every believer has this anointing, the helpful presence of the Holy Spirit who will teach us and lead us into His truth. When the church is gathered as the pillar and foundation of truth, it is to apply this promise, realizing that every believer can have a part because every believer has God’s anointing.
This same apostle John encouraged his readers to “...not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, ESV). Even then people were teaching false doctrines that could lead people astray spiritually. John, therefore, encourages the believers to test the spirits to determine if they are from God or not. This is the same apostle who reminds believers that they have the anointing of God and do not need someone to teach them.
Lloyd Gardner
It is my firm belief that God is presently changing the structure of His church to allow for the fulfillment of much of His will. The people of God have many questions about how God desires to work in His church but they are confused because most of the answers are given in the context of a church structure that is not biblical and cannot properly contain all that God wishes to pour out.
One example of this confusion is the debate over the place of miracles and supernatural expressions in the church. Some church leaders are teaching that the supernatural spiritual gifts have ceased—that they were merely God’s way of bearing witness to the apostolic period in which the church was founded. After the apostolic age the miraculous gifts such as miracles, healing and tongues ceased. Some even go so far as to say that any claimed expression of these gifts today is a demonic counterfeit.
Others, have readily accepted the spiritual gifts as available today but have tried to apply them in a church structure that was never intended by God. The result is a convoluted expression of the gifts rather then a genuine, normal expression among Christians.
Some movements have even opened up to the enemy by allowing a mixture of demonic activity with what they deem as genuine spiritual gifts. Recent movements such as the unusual experiences in Toronto, Lakeland and Brownsville, Florida attest to this tendency. It was common to hear leaders of these movements admit that there were many counterfeit manifestations in these meetings that may even have had a demonic origin. There was little testing of the experiences being received by the people.
God wants to clean up this mess but it will take a wholesale renovation of what we call “church.” Paul called the church “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). The church is a context in which truth is supported and built up like a spiritual house. Without a true expression of the church as God designed it, truth becomes elusive and unstable in our lives.
Let me explain. Local church expressions were never meant to be large gatherings where one person expounds doctrine on a continuing basis. The church was designed by God to be expressed in small gatherings where the believers participated together in their pursuit of truth. In such informal gatherings, Christ was to be the spiritual Guest of honor and His word was to be respected and followed.
In such small, informal gatherings it was easy to put things that were shared to the test of God’s word and the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit were not strange, mystical activities but normal functions of Christians ministering to one another. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything carefully. Embrace what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). In a small gathering in someone’s home it was easy to make sure that the things shared in the gathering matched up with the word of God. There were no spiritually elite preachers whose word was accepted without question. Notice also that prophecies were considered a normal part of the meeting and were not to be “despised.” In this way the early church gathering was the “pillar and foundation of truth,” a context where truth was received and embraced after objective testing.
In 1 Corinthians 14:29 Paul wrote something similar: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.” Notice that prophets were allowed to share in small numbers but that everyone else in the meeting would judge or weigh what was spoken. In this way truth was discerned and maintained. Prophets were not considered above the word but were to always line up with scripture. In today’s institutional church setting we would not call the “pastor” a prophet but seldom is his message tested or judged by the Christians assembled. He is given the status of “prophet” even though not called one and yet his words are not judged.
John warns against this notion of elite teachers being allowed to dominate the gatherings. He said, “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him”
(1 John 2:27, ESV). The apostle is not saying that teachers are not important but is encouraging the believers to realize that they don’t have to be spoon fed by the teachers because they too have the anointing of God.
This anointing is the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus when He said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26, ESV). Every believer has this anointing, the helpful presence of the Holy Spirit who will teach us and lead us into His truth. When the church is gathered as the pillar and foundation of truth, it is to apply this promise, realizing that every believer can have a part because every believer has God’s anointing.
This same apostle John encouraged his readers to “...not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, ESV). Even then people were teaching false doctrines that could lead people astray spiritually. John, therefore, encourages the believers to test the spirits to determine if they are from God or not. This is the same apostle who reminds believers that they have the anointing of God and do not need someone to teach them.
